THINGS TO AVOID WHILE TRYING TO GET PREGNANT

Last Updated on February 27, 2024 by Joshua Isibor

 If you must get pregnant, there are some foods and other things to avoid. Pregnancy is a very delicate stage in a woman’s life. It takes an extreme amount of carefulness in order not to sabotage your efforts.

In this article, we’d be looking at some foods and other physical activities that can affect your fertility as a woman.

Foods To Avoid For Conception

If you are planning to get pregnant either as a wife or as a single lady you must avoid these foods, because they might reduce your chances of getting pregnant.

1. Seafood:

Examples are king mackerel, shark, swordfish, and tilefish.  Studies have shown that women who are pregnant or who wish to get pregnant should avoid such seas foods because they are extremely high in mercury content.

They are known to cause miscarriages and can lead to infertility.

Another effect of mercury is that it damages the nervous system of the unborn child.

2. High Intake of Caffeine

Caffeine is a natural stimulant most commonly found in coffee tea, and cocoa plants. Although some of the side effects associated with caffeine are restlessness, tremors, anxiety, irregular heartbeats, migraines, and high blood pressure in some individuals (1)

In as much caffeine has all these side effects, it can lead to miscarriages and can escalate the risk of infertility.

Taking more than five cups of coffee a day is associated with decreased fertility. Whatever you take in the first four weeks of your pregnancy matters a lot. Taking more than 200mg of caffeine content in a day can surge the risk of getting a miscarriage. To be safe from infertility you’d need to take a few cups (s) each day.

3. Foods high in Trans Fats

In the older generation, we eat natural foods back-to-back, but now the reverse is the case. Currently, most intakes of foods are what we buy or order which is usually processed. But for someone looking for a child, it’s better to avoid baked, processed, and fried foods.

Foods high in trans fats can affect ovulatory infertility and also decreases the sperm count(and quality)

4. Soy Products

Examples of foods containing soy are edamame, miso, soymilk, soy nuts, soy sauce, tofu, and tempeh. Soy products are good but they can lead to infertility because it contains phytoestrogens.

5. High Intake of Carbohydrates

Taking excess carbohydrates and having a low intake of them can also contribute to infertility.

For example, a low intake of carbs can affect insulin and testosterone levels while a high intake of carbohydrates can lead to ovulatory infertility.

6. Junk Food

Taking lots of junk food is not a certainty for infertility. But it can pose a great danger to our health due to the high intake of sugar and processed foods. We should also have in mind that our body needs healthy natural foods such as vegetables, fruits, protein, etc. Taking more junk food does not improve our health in any way. When you start taking foods that will help boost your fertility, it would rank you at a high chance of getting pregnant.

OTHER THINGS TO AVOID WHILE TRYING TO GET PREGNANT

1. Smoking

No matter how much you love smoking as a man or a woman smoking has so many negative effects!! It may be one of your favorite hobbies.  As we all know smoking has grades; a person who smokes a normal cigarette and a person who smokes Indian hemp. The effects on both are quite different.

Smoking increases the risk of getting lung, colon, and pancreatic cancer which can pose a great danger to your health. Smoking as a lead, can lead to early menopause and also increase the risk of infertility. Generally, those who smoke are liable to die youth.

Apart from leading to early menopause, smoking can also compromise or pose damage to the sperm.

2. Too much Alcohol

Taking excess alcohol can pose a great danger when trying to get pregnant. No amount of alcohol is regarded as safe because it can stop you from getting pregnant which can also lead to multiple miscarriages.

3. Extreme Exercise

Exercise is something vital that the body needs regularly, but excess of it can be bad (i.e over-exercising). Studies have shown that over-exercising can lead to extreme weight loss and hormonal shifts, which can make a lady have irregular or missed periods.

4. Sperm-Harming Lubricants

It’s okay to use lubricants when trying to get pregnant. There are some brands of sperm lubricants that contain some ingredients that can affect sperm mobility.

To be on a safer side it is better to use lubricants such as conceive plus or Pre-seeds,  which are PH-balanced.

5. Chronic Stress

Life is full of stress and worries, and it’s impossible to eradicate them all from our life.  You don’t get good health while stressing yourself, likewise peace of mind.

Recent Research has shown that the higher the stress the longer the time takes to be conceived. Chronic stress can pose a negative impact on ovulation and fertility. If by any means you’re having predicaments managing your stress,  speak to your doctor for counseling.

Other ways of getting complementary treatments are through mediation, yoga, and acupuncture. When you do all of these it would enhance your chances of conception.

ALSO, READ How to take care of your pregnant wife

Originally posted 2020-10-30 17:32:00.